Requirements for the Purple Heart Medal

 A Fellow at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Douglas N. Hornsby, MD FACR, has spent more than two decades as the president of Digital Radiology, Inc., a provider of teleradiology services located in North Bay Village, Florida and Coral Gables Florida. Prior to his medical career, Douglas N. Hornsby, MD, spent 15 years in the military. He was wounded twice in combat, earning a pair of Purple Heart medals, and is a lifetime member of The Military Order of the Purple Heart.

The Purple Heart medal is a military award used to honor members of the United States armed forces who have been injured or killed in the line of duty. The distinguished military decoration is presented on behalf of the President of the United States.

There are a few eligibility criteria for the Purple Heart. To start, a service member may be eligible for the honor if they have been wounded as a result of enemy actions, directly or indirectly. Second, the wound must be of a severity that requires immediate treatment from a medical officer.

Examples of injuries that may result in a Purple Heart include gunshot and fragmentation wounds, severe concussions, and lacerations or bone fractures.